Back to school looks completely different for me this year...for the first time in twenty-five consecutive years, I'm not scurrying around in the family learning space, ordering curricula, organizing my desk, and trying to juggle school work and food processing and life.

​For the past three years we've been transitioning from homeschool to a traditional school setting.

​And suddenly, Youngest Mystery is a rising freshman, a varsity goalie, and he.is.ready.

Truth be told, I think I'm ready too. Twenty-five years is, after all, a very long time.

But will I miss homeschool? Oh yeah...the best moments, reading great literature aloud through lunches for the past ten years or so, planning family field trip-vacations in April to historic sites like Plymouth Plantation or Williamsburg, flexible scheduling, and raising butterflies are among the highlights. There are definitely some bits I won't miss, but this is not the place for that list.

But I think the best part of homeschool, apart from the opportunity of being an active participant in the learning environment of my sons, has been the delight of discovery I have experienced personally, reading and learning along with them.

My curiosity and sense of wonder have grown through the years, and I'd like that to continue.

So, I want to be mindful of this need,- to keep learning,-to keep exploring,-to keep stretching my vision beyond what I already know.

(Which is probably why I was thrilled to find a butterfly habitat on sale at the local box store recently. I bought it. For myself.)​But it's not just about “learning new stuff.” As much fun as that is, I don't want to be running around with a full brain and a shriveled soul. Mahatma Gandhi once said,

​ “When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator.I try to see Him and His mercies in all these creations.”

So, this is my goal for the month of September, to be intentional aboutexpanding my soulin worship of the Creator as I take note of His wonderworks around me.

​I'm not planning a vacation to a fascinating locale, I'm accepting the challenge to see the wonders in my ordinary world, every ordinary day.

I'm trying to see Him, and His mercies in all these creations.​Every. day.

So, here I go!! I'm on a quest for a Soul Stretching September! ​ Would you care to join me on this little adventure?

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I'm finding my way beyond the maze of the "middle" years (if I'm gonna be 100 and something someday...) ​living life as a country woman who is a writer, gardener, wife, mom, nature observer, teacher,and most of all a much loved child of God.